Old and New Friends
by Winekita
Summary: One-shot. Frank didn't know Leo had a tattoo. He also didn't know Leo had been in a gang before. But was his old gang that bad? T for swearing.


_**Still have wi-fi! Yay!**_

 _ **This is a little one-shot that came in to my mind after thinking about a certain couple of movies. Can you spot the references?**_

 _ **I own nothing you recognize as canon.**_

* * *

 ** _*~Old and New Friends~*_**

 _A Leo Valdez fanfiction_

Frank didn't know Leo had a tattoo. He was pretty sure _no one_ knew. Honestly, he might not have seen it had Leo not been hanging upside down.

Frank had been walking by the engine room, heading for the infirmary for some Aspirin (he had a bit of a headache) when he heard Leo yell. The boy was screaming in a mix of Greek and Spanish, neither of which sounded particularly good-mannered.

The son of Mars hesitantly stuck his head in the engine room, hoping there weren't any active flames. "Leo?" he called. "You okay in here?"

"Frank! Up here!"

Frank looked up and saw Leo hanging upside down from a sticky web on the ceiling. The web was all over him, but he was attached the ceiling only by a web stuck to one of his feet. His shirt was on the ground below him, and one of his hands was stuck to his face.

"How in the name of Mars did you get up there?" Frank asked.

Leo glared at him and wiggled, only managing to turn in circles. "Just help me get down!"

"How?"

"Get a knife or Jason's sword or something and cut me loose!"

Frank grabbed a small saw that was laying nearby and located a ladder. As he climbed it, he asked, "Seriously, though—how did you even get into this situation?"

Leo huffed, clearly annoyed. "I was experimenting with one of my spheres. I designed it to be a web grenade, y'know? Kinda like the flash bombs. Only…"

"You detonated it prematurely?" Frank guessed with a smirk.

Leo growled, "Shut up." He wiggled again, causing him to spin once more. "I'm seeing spots here! And I'm getting dizzy…"

Frank began cutting some of the webbing on Leo's body, saving the ceiling part for last.

"Why is your shirt off?"

"When I originally got stuck, it kept falling over my face," the son of Hephaestus explained. "I managed to get it off, but then my hand…" He tried to pull his hand away from his cheek, but it bounced back and smacked him. "I didn't think the web would be this strong."

"Why didn't you catch fire?"

Leo's mouth formed a thin line. "I try to make my inventions slightly fire resistant. Ever since my mom died, I made it a habit to try to _not_ burn everything down."

That was a pretty comforting thought to Frank. He was glad Leo thought that far ahead into some of his work.

About five minutes into the sawing, Leo groaned. "Ngh…Frank, you mind hurrying it up? I'm really feeling weird…"

"How long have you been like this?"

Leo shrugged. "Half hour? I can't remember…"

That was definitely not good. All the blood had probably drained into his head. When Leo got down he would need to get to the infirmary for some steady oxygen.

Frank got off the ladder and pulled together a soft place for Leo to land. He then climbed back up and began to cut the main webbing tying the repair boy to the ceiling.

That was when Frank saw the tattoo. It was small, right on Leo's hairline at the back of his neck. When his hair was down, no one would ever see it. Now that he was upside down, Frank could see it clearly.

It was a small tattoo of a cross with wings. Judging by how faded it looked, Frank had to guess it was a few years old.

"I didn't know you had a tattoo," he said aloud.

"Huh?" Leo slurred. "I have a raccoon?"

Frank immediately dropped the question and sawed faster. Within another minute, the webbing snapped and Leo fell onto the soft bedding and mattress. He groaned, then laughed. "Pretty birds," he said. "How'd they get in?" His eyes rolled back and he collapsed.

Frank dropped down to the floor, scooped Leo up and ran to the infirmary.

Thankfully, after a few minutes Leo felt better and functional again. He relied on the oxygen mask for a bit and tried to breathe slowly. He didn't try to stand right away, but probably couldn't anyway. Frank was still trying to cut away the excess webbing.

"When did you get that tattoo?" Frank asked once Leo's hand was cut away from his face.

Leo's eyes widened. "I don't have a tattoo."

"I saw it clear as day. It was on your neck, right below your hairline. It's a cross with wings."

Leo looked away and rubbed the back of his neck. "I…I, uh, had a pretty sketchy past."

Frank cocked an eyebrow.

"Honestly, that part wasn't too bad," Leo admitted. "Maybe the tatt was a bad idea, but the gang I was in when I got it was actually a pretty cool family."

"You were in a gang?" Frank asked incredulously.

"A small one outside of Dallas. The Dodgers. We had some good times. Our leader, Jack Dawkins, was eighteen. I only spent a year with them, but they were the closest thing to a family I'd known before Camp Half-Blood."

"How old were you?"

Leo shrugged. "Ten. Someone set Jack up and got him and the others arrested a little after I turned eleven. Me and another member were the only ones who didn't get caught. 'Course, I got caught a few days later for other reasons and was brought to Social Services."

Frank couldn't believe his ears. He never thought of Leo as a gang member. Trying to imagine a ten-year-old version as one was hard.

"Were they really family, though?" he asked.

Leo smiled sadly. "We were all runaways. Jack found me sleeping in an alley and brought me to the gang's place. There was only a few members; Jack, Francis, Eddy, Rita, Olivia, and me. Olivia was a year older than me. Everyone else was upper teens. Sure, we stole, tagged, even beat up some other gangs. We never did anything that bad, though. We never shot people or stabbed an innocent person off the street. Our best defense when we got caught was to run."

Leo looked down and sighed. "Sometimes, before I found out Hephaestus was my dad, I would wish I could go back to Houston and start up a gang like that—or see if Jack was willing to take me in again if he got out of jail. At least with the Dodgers I felt like I belonged—like I wasn't some monthly check."

"You don't feel that way now?"

"Nah." Leo grinned. "You guys are like a family to me, too. My time with the Dodgers is long gone. I'm glad I found a home at CHB."

Frank smiled. "I'm happy to hear that."

Leo's grin got bigger. "Hey, is your name actually the short form of Francis?"

"No. Why?"

"Francis was a sixteen-year-old girl in the gang. She always insisted people call her that. I called her Frankie, just to annoy her."

"I'm so happy your annoying personality came about when you were ten," Frank complained.

They laughed. Leo yawned. "What time is it?"

Frank looked at the clock on the wall. "About eight PM. Why?"

Leo shrugged. "I've been up a while. That webbing incident finally drained me, I guess." He stood up and stretched. "I think I'll hit the sack."

"Can I get a better look of your tattoo, first?"

Leo nodded and lifted up his hair on the back of his neck. Frank's fingers hovered over the cross and wings. "Was this the Dodgers' brand?"

"No. Jack didn't want me getting the brand—it was a spade with a sun inside—'til I was at least fifteen. I saw Frankie getting a tattoo of some sort of flower on her arm one day. She said it was to honor her dead sister. Ten-year-olds are influential creatures. I went to a guy in the shop and asked if he would do one for me. I had cash. The guy took me to the back and gave me this."

"Does it mean anything?"

"I chose it because I missed my mom." Leo's eyes turned misty. "Hurt like Hades, but it was worth it to me."

Frank patted him on the back. "I'm sure your mom is proud of you."

"Don't start with that," Leo complained. He smiled.

Frank returned the smile. "Go to bed, gang member."

Leo waved him off and tottered off to the engine room. After five minutes, Frank poked his head in to make sure Leo was actually going to sleep. He saw the son of Hephaestus curled up inside a blanket on the small mattress in the middle of the room. He was breathing steadily.

Frank returned to the infirmary, took a few Aspirins (for he still felt like he had a headache) and went to his room. Within minutes, he, too, was out like a light.

That night, someone must have been watching, for Frank did not have the usual demigod nightmares. He dreamed not of the future, but of the past.

* * *

 _Frank found himself inside a small, rundown basement. Sirens blared outside. Salsa music softly echoed through the place. A few lights flickered weakly overhead, almost in time with the beat._

 _Frank noticed a few inflatable mattresses and tents strewn around the room. A table had stale pizza on top of it, as well as empty soda bottles. Cigarette butts were littered everywhere. There was a TV in the corner. Static filled its screen, but there was a pretty good picture to go by. A teenage girl sat on a roller chair, watching it. She had blonde hair and piercing brown eyes. Earrings dangled from her ears and a bandage wrapped her left arm._

 _A teenage boy, around Frank's age, was asleep on one of the mattresses. He was tall and lanky, with dirty clothes that looked a little small on him. He cradled a broken tennis racket like a teddy bear._

 _Another, older girl lay in one of the tents. She was African American. From what Frank could tell, she looked beautiful, with reddish-brown hair and makeup that wasn't smeared._

 _Frank turned his attention to the salsa music. There was a corner with gears and parts and bulbs that held a smaller sleeping bag. A tiny radio played the music. Nearby, a small Latino boy in an oversized sweatshirt swiveled his hips and cha-cha'ed around. He had curly black hair and elfish features. A bandage was wrapped gently around his neck._

Leo? _Frank's vision moved closer and he realized it was Leo! He had the same upturned nose, round face, and pointy ears. And his little area matched Frank's Leo's messy engine room in terms of cleanliness._

 _"Leo!" called the girl watching TV. She had a tiny British accent. "Stop that racket! I'm trying to watch this show!"_

 _Leo pursed his lips and turned off his radio. Then, he grinned and walked over to the girl. She was so engrossed in the show, some sort of soap opera, that she never noticed the small elf wandering towards her._

 _In an instant, he popped his head up and scooted close to the screen, facing away from her. "Hey, Frankie, girl, what'cha watchin', girl?" He had a heavier Mexican accent than Frank thought he would have. His Leo spoke with only a slight accent, one that you didn't pick up on unless you really tried to hear it. This Leo's English was thick and almost hard to understand._

 _Frankie—or Francis, as Frank remembered Leo's explanation—grimaced at the new, curly-haired wall in front of her TV screen._

 _Leo continued to ramble. "Hey, does he get the girl? I mean, what happened?"_

 _Francis kicked him to the side. "Shut up, you little Mexican rat!"_

 _Leo suddenly appeared from behind her chair. "Hey, man, 'dis stuff is boooring, man! C'mon, let's put some boxing on! Let's see some action!"_

 _Francis swiped at him, but he quickly dodged and rolled away. She growled as he laughed._

 _"Heh, heh," he chuckled. "Hey, Frankie,_ que pasa _, girl? You're getting slow, girl! Ha, ha!"_

 _Francis stuck her nose in the air. "My name is Francis. Frahn-sis. Not Frank, not Frankie. Francis."_

 _Leo stuck his finger in his ear and pulled it out, flicking the earwax he collected away. "No kidding, man. 'ey, so what did you bring in today, Frahncees?" He said the last bit with obvious disdain and made a face as he said it._

 _"It's none of your business, you intrusive little pipsqueak!" she snarled._

 _"You didn't bring anyting today, did you?" Leo protested._

 _Francis looked a little flushed at the question. "You know full well that I was busy this morning!" She rubbed her arm, which made Leo rub the back of his neck._

 _"Dat's no excuse!" Leo threw his arms into the air. "It's newspaper burritos again! It was your turn to get the food today, Frankie!"_

 _"Hey, whoa, whoa," called a voice from the bottom of the stairs. "Cool it, little dude."_

 _Leo grinned at the newcomer. It was a tall African American teenager. He had dreadlocks, which were tied back with a bandana. He wore a dirty white tank top with baggy jeans. A chain dangled from his front pocket to his back pocket. He held up a couple bags._

 _"I'd like to introduce you to," he threw one of the bags at Leo. "Your meal."_

 _Leo opened the bag, his eyes lighting up in happiness._

 _"Hot dogs, all right, Jack!" Leo squealed._

 _"It's lunch," Jack informed him. "Got enough for all of us to have five. Dig in, Leo."_

 _Leo wolfed down a couple hot dogs and handed two more to Francis._

 _Frank watched on as the small gang slowly woke up and eventually chowed down together. They were like a small family, smiling and joking around. Jack and the other African American—Frank figured that was Rita—smoked and Eddy drank a beer. Leo didn't go for either. He swigged his water and didn't look interested in a cigarette, for which Frank was immensely grateful. Smoking and drinking at that age would have been terrible._

 _"Leo, why is your neck bandaged?" Jack asked after they were all settled._

 _Leo and Francis exchanged a nervous glance. "Um," Leo mumbled. "I scratched my neck on the fence outside."_

 _Jack cocked an eyebrow. "Eddy, hold him."_

 _Leo tried to run, but the tall kid pinned him up against the wall. Frank felt nervous, but Eddy seemed to be holding him gently, with just enough force to keep him pinned. He knew what he was doing._

 _Jack unwrapped the bandages on Leo's neck, revealing the new tattoo just under the hairline. "What the Hell is this, Leo? You got a tattoo?"_

 _Leo looked sheepish. "It was the spur of the moment?"_

 _"You're ten," Rita protested. "You should never have been allowed to get that in the first place!"_

 _"I'm sorry," Leo apologized. "I just…Francis got one to honor her sister…I thought, maybe, I should get one to—for my mom."_

 _Jack's gaze softened. "I know you meant well, Leo, but tattoos are permanent. That's gonna be on the back of your neck forever."_

 _"I know…"_

 _Eddy released Leo. Leo turned and looked at Jack's shoes. Jack bent down and gripped Leo's shoulders gently._

 _"Look, Leo," he said. "I know we're a gang. We do bad things on a normal basis. We're bad influences on you already. But…you're still young, Leo. We all agreed you shouldn't be allowed to smoke or drink til you're our age, and you shouldn't be getting tattoos until you're at least sixteen. I'm hoping by then you'll be in a better place than this and you won't_ need _to do any of this. You understand?"_

 _Leo nodded. "Yeah."_

 _"Good. So, no more tattoos, right?"_

 _"Right."_

* * *

The dream was one Frank remembered for years to come. Even after he and Leo had had kids of their own.

In fact, they were walking through New York one day, shopping for anniversary gifts, when Leo's past came back to meet them. They both had gotten married at around the same time and had set up a tradition to shop for gifts together every year—just so neither wouldn't forget!

Frank smelled hot dogs and heard his stomach rumble. "You mind if we stop and eat?"

Leo shrugged. "Maybe some food will help me think of a good gift," he joked.

They bought a couple big 'dogs and began to chow down as they walked. As they rounded a corner, Leo stopped, looking across the street.

Frank tugged on his shirt. "The stores are this way, Leo."

Leo slapped his hand away. "I know. I just…got caught up in memories, that's all."

Frank followed Leo's gaze. He was looking at a soup kitchen, currently serving free lunch to those in need. Frank looked at Leo, whose gaze was far away. He felt a little sorry for Leo, who had been homeless for half his childhood.

Leo lifted his chin a little. "If you feel sorry for me, scrub that thought away right now. I'll punch you if you say you're sorry."

Frank cracked a grin. "No problem. Keep your pride."

Leo was about to say something when his gaze hesitated. He froze, then muttered, "Rita?"

He suddenly took off across the street, ignoring the horns beeping at him. Frank followed at a much more cautious pace.

Leo made his way up to the front of the soup kitchen and strolled inside. He walked up to an African American woman with braided red-brown hair. She was very beautiful, and looked a little familiar to Frank.

"Excuse me," Leo said, his voice small. He poked the woman in the shoulder to get her attention. "Pardon me."

The woman looked up and smiled warmly. "Hey, there. Can I help you?"

"Would your name happen to be Rita Fallon?" Leo asked.

She blinked. "Used to be me. I go by Rita Dawkins now, sweetie."

Leo grinned. "Would that be Dawkins, like _Jack_ Dawkins?"

"Why, yes. Exactly. You know Jack?"

Leo hugged her. "I know _both of you_! It's me! Little Leo Valdez! From the Dodgers!"

Rita squealed in happiness and hugged back. "Leo!? Oh my God, it's been years!"

"I know!"

Rita pulled up the hair on the back of Leo's neck. She smiled. "Yeah, it's you. Still got that little tatt. Did you manage to get any more?"

"Haven't thought about any more. Though, I got enough scars to qualify."

They both laughed. Rita stuck her hand out to Frank. "Rita Dawkins."

"Frank Zhang. Leo told me about the Dodgers once. He said you guys were the closest thing to a family he had until he turned fifteen."

Rita frowned. "Sorry to hear that. We weren't much of a family, you know."

Leo smiled. "You were better than the people who only saw me as a check every month. I finally found out who my dad was, though, and he introduced me to a new family."

"That's great to hear, honey," Rita said, hugging him again. "You've grown up so much! It feels like just yesterday you were a dumb ten-year-old getting a tattoo."

Leo pouted. "I wasn't dumb. I still don't regret getting it. No one even knew about it except Frank, here. But that was only because he caught me hangin' upside down."

Rita chuckled. "That sounds like a fun story." She gestured to a table. "Why don't you sit down? I'll go get Jack and you can tell us how you've been, Leo."

She left to stick her head through the kitchen. "Jack!" she called. "Get out here and see who came to visit!"

A tall African American man came out. Frank recognized him from the dream he'd had so many years before. Jack still had dreads, which were longer now. He had tattoos running up and down his arms, and had a stake through one earlobe.

Jack froze when he saw Leo. "No way," he said. "That can't be the scrawny little snot from Texas! That you, Leo?"

Leo grinned. "Hey, Jack! Been a while!"

The two bro-hugged. Frank got introduced and they all sat down together. Jack explained that he'd stayed in jail for a little over five years after the framing, and moved to New York with Rita to start over. They started the soup kitchen on top of working night-shifts.

Leo told them how he had traveled across Europe for five years after spending a winter at a camp for troubled teens, as well as mentioning he met a girl from Greece after the camp experiences. They were extremely proud that Leo hadn't ended up in jail after getting such a terrible influence from the Dodgers.

"You guys weren't terrible," Leo defended. "I went through way worse crap after we split."

Frank nodded. "I was there for some of it. He's been in some tough scraps, but I wouldn't have anyone else by my side. He's a resourceful son of a bitch."

Jack nodded. "Glad to hear it. I always gave him those electrician jobs—y'know, like rigging up a bike or hotwiring a car or taking out security cameras—because of that resourceful attitude. You were a genius back then, dude."

"Still am." Leo puffed out his chest. "Who do you think invented the Valdezinator?"

"That was you?"

"Who else would name it that?" Frank asked.

They all laughed.

"You heard anything from Eddy, Olivia or Francis?" Leo asked, sounding hopeful.

"Eddy had a brain tumor and died a few years after we split," Rita explained. "He and I stayed together for a while, just so we had someone else we knew around. But, he…he didn't live to see Jack get out of jail."

Leo's eyes went misty again. "I'm sorry," he said. "Eddy was so much fun, even if he had the IQ of a Pringle."

Jack smiled at that. "He was a good guy, and we miss him."

"Francis went downhill after everyone got caught," Rita continued. "She went nuts in jail, and now she's got a life sentence. Jack and I went to visit, but she doesn't want to see us anymore. Says it's too painful to look at the past like that. She'd rather stay in jail, where she knows how to do things and doesn't have to worry about anything."

"Harsh," Frank noted.

"It's reality," Rita said. "Not all of us get a happy ending."

"What about Olivia?" asked Leo.

Jack shrugged. "Haven't heard from her since the framing. We knew she ran off with you, but beyond that…"

"I got separated from her a few days later. I told her to wait somewhere while I tried to steal some food. Got caught, though. The police called Social Services on me and I went to the next foster home. Never found out what happened to Olivia…"

Rita leaned in to whisper to Frank, "Olivia joined up after Leo. He was like a brother to her and they went everywhere together. Jack and I swore that they'd get together when they were older."

Frank's eyes widened. "If that had happened, I don't think Leo would have met his wife."

"You're married?" Jack asked.

Leo held up his left hand, on which was the golden wedding band with engraved flames. "Her name's Calypso. She's the girl I met in Greece when I was fifteen." He took out his wallet and handed them a photo. "That's Calypso there. And those two mini-Leos are Esperanza and Tulio. They're five."

Rita cooed at the picture. "Aw, they're so cute, Leo! They look just like you!"

Jack examined the picture a little more. "Damn, dude. How'd you manage to score that for a wife? You must be quite the charmer."

Leo puffed out his chest. "All this Valdez charm, girls couldn't keep their hands off me. But Calypso was the one who stole my heart in the end. I sacrificed a lot to be with her."

Frank tried not to think of the grave and statues that had been erected in Leo's honor. That was back when everyone thought Leo was dead and unable to take the physician's cure.

Jack handed the picture back to Leo. "You turned out all right, Leo. We're proud of you."

Rita smiled. "We should all get together sometime. A triple date, if you guys can find babysitters."

Frank and Leo exchanged a look. "As it so happens," Leo said. "We do need to have an anniversary dinner. Me and Frank could share the night and give our wives gifts on our respective anniversaries. Know any good places to eat?"

"You guys don't live here?" Jack questioned.

"We live on Long Island," Frank explained. "We rarely come out into town like this."

"I know a nice seafood restaurant down by the docks," Rita said. "A little pricey, and it's a dress-up kind of joint, but it might be just what you boys need to please your wives."

Jack winked. "Took her there myself last year for _our_ anniversary. Best idea ever."

Frank grinned. "You free next Friday at seven?"

The four set up the date. Frank was thrilled that he now had some new friends to hang out with. He was even more thrilled that Leo had gotten to see some old friends again.

Leo looked so happy, Frank thought he might combust.

And then on the way home, he did, which scared the life out of Frank.

* * *

 ** _A/N: I'll give you a hint: the references are for two different stories, yet those same stories are linked. And by stories, I mean movies based on a book :3_**


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